Nicknames
by Rebecca Dearest
Summary: Ave. Q Quickie oneshot before my next story comes out. Rod goes to college expecting nothing but work. He is surprised when he gets a roommate who believes in everything but. Not exactly R/N, but Rod is kind of figuring himself out.


**Here is a quicky little oneshot I wrote when I couldn't sleep )  
It'll do while I'm writing my next story, which is longer, and in progress.  
So think of this as a little in-between filler until the next fic comes out. **

"_**We live together."  
"We're close as people can get."  
"We've been the best of buddies-"  
"Ever since the day we met!"**_

College!  
Rodney had been looking forward to this day for years. The day he'd leave his crazy family and come and live his own life… and here he was.  
College!  
High school had been an annoyance, and thankfully a temporary one. He had a few good friends, but hadn't really connected with anyone… not to mention the fact that his friends teased him for his constant lack of a girlfriend. He just never seemed _interested_ in any of the girls at his high school.  
He hoped this would change at college. He felt strange being one of the only boys he knew who never seemed to have an interest in girls.  
But that was beside the point. Here he was at college, ready to study business, ready to find his purpose in the world and make a difference!  
He opened the large manila envelope he had put his college information into. Digging through random papers, he finally found the one he was looking for. Here was his dormitory information.  
"Ahh, let's see… turn left at the main building… next to the library… well this shouldn't be too hard to find!"  
He walked down the path, trying to relate the map to his surroundings.  
"Is this it…?" he asked. Checking the sign and checking his papers, he smiled. Here it was!  
Talking to the guy at the desk, he got a key and went upstairs to find his room.  
Opening the door, he found an immaculate room with two beds.  
Two beds…?  
A roommate?!  
He was not prepared to have a roommate. He assumed that this was a single dorm, and he'd have his own room.  
He knew one thing for sure- he was definitely _not_ the kind of person who could live with someone else. He kept an immaculate room, and hated when even someone in his family came in. How could he stand living with someone else…?  
He'd just have to hope that the list of adjectives he turned in for his potential roommate… responsible, clean, hardworking… well, he hoped that his roommate would appeal to those traits.  
He put down his bags on the bed. Everything inside them was perfectly organized, from teeshirts to socks, to his favorite books.  
He looked at the door. Would his roommate just enter…? Was he coming today?  
After putting away half his stuff, his question was answered. The door slammed open and a suitcase sailed into the room.  
"Arrghh!" Rodney cried, dodging the suitcase and falling on his bed.  
"Oh, sorry!" said a voice. Rodney straightened his glasses.  
"Er… that's fine. Can I… help you?"  
The stranger smiled widely. "I'm your roommate!"  
"What?!" cried Rodney. "Do… do you have your papers?"  
"Yup… hold on…" the stranger reached in his hoodie pocket and pulled out some crumpled papers. "One of these… no, not this one… ooh, here is some pretty girl I met outside's number… ah! Here it is!"  
He handed the paper to Rodney, who read it.  
"Nicholas… oh… wow… this is your room!"  
"And you're Rodney?"  
"Yes. Now, this half of the room is yours… I hope you keep a clean… room?"  
Nicholas had already opened a case that was packed pell-mell with nonsense.  
"Yeah I keep it clean enough. I guess seeing the floor constitutes as clean?" He laughed a weird laugh, a strange laugh.  
"Er… yes… but so does seeing the bed…" Rodney said, eyeing Nicholas's bed, which was now completely covered in clothes.  
"Aw, Rod, are you one of those kids who need to keep everything spic-and-span all the time?"  
"The name is Rodney," he grumbled. Nicknames bothered him.  
"Sorry. Just thought that… you know… we'd be friends now! And friends call each other by fun names, right?"  
"Uh, sure, whatever," Rodney said, picking up another bag and unpacking.  
"Wow. You sure are organized! I'm jealous."  
"I'm sure you could be organized if you wanted to be, Nicholas."  
"Aww. Can't ya call me Nicky?"  
"Nicknames bother me," Rodney shrugged.  
"Come on," Nicholas said, making puppy eyes at him. Rodney felt a peculiar feeling… a strange pang…  
"Uh, we'll see. Okay?" he conceded.  
Nicholas smiled. "Great!"

After a week or so, Rodney still wasn't used to having someone constantly with him. He would be studying, and all of a sudden there was Nicholas, listening to music and eating a bag of chips next to him, asking him "whatcha doin'?" and "that's a big book!" or offering him chips.  
Rodney was working on an assignment for his course on accounting one day when Nicholas burst in the door.  
"Hey Rod!"  
"Rodney," he corrected.  
"Well, hey nonetheless. Want to go somewhere for dinner? I'm starved!"  
"Nicholas, I'm trying to finish this assignment."  
"When's it due?"  
"Next week."  
"Aww, come on then! You have plenty of time!"  
"Nicholas…"  
Nicholas grabbed Rodney's arm and shook it. "Come on, come on!"  
"NICHOLAS!"  
"RODNEY!"  
"Not now, not today," Rodney said, sighing and massaging his temples. "It's been a rough day."  
"Aww, what happened?" asked Nicholas, moving his books over slightly and sitting on the desk.  
"Nicholas, the desk can't take this weight…"  
"Are you calling me fat?!"  
"No, I'm just… can't I do my work?"  
"What's wrong, Rod?" asked Nicholas. "Tell me!"  
"For one thing, stop this with your stupid nicknames!"  
"Why does it bother you so much? Didn't your old friends ever call you 'Rod'?"  
He thought back. No… he was never close enough with anyone to ever have them give him a nickname.  
"No, Nicholas. I just… I never… really was good enough friends with anyone for them to give me a nickname."  
Nicholas's eyes were filled with sadness. "Gosh, Rod, that's just so sad. Oops, Rodney, I'm sorry!"  
"It's not sad, Nicholas. It's life."  
"Well… why weren't you close with anyone?"  
"And how is this your business, Nicholas?"  
"Well we're roommates, right? And I don't really know anyone at this college yet… I mean, I only got in because I have connections, so it's not like I'm super popular." He smiled. "So you're pretty much… my best friend."  
Best friend? Rodney had never been called _anyone_'s best friend before. Well… he had once…  
"Well thanks, Nicholas. I've only had one best friend before, but that kind of… well… went downhill."  
"What happened?"  
"It's… none of your business!" he snapped. He sighed and tried to fight the random tears that were coming.  
"Rodney?" Nicholas asked, leaning down and looking at him.  
Rodney took off his glasses and cleaned them on his sweater.  
"I… mentioned something to him… and for some reason, he didn't like what I'd said? And well… after that… he didn't talk to me much."  
"Gosh, Rod, that's real sad."  
"Yeah, well, life isn't perfect," Rodney snapped, getting his grip back on life.  
"Well I think you are under too much stress!" Nicholas said. "So dinner is probably the best idea ever."  
Rodney couldn't help a smile. "Well…"  
"Yes!" cried Nicholas.  
"Well… maybe grabbing a short meal…"  
"Yes!" cried Nicholas, wrapping his arms around Rodney. "Hooray! I am finally teaching you that it is okay to RELAX!"  
Rodney felt strange. He wasn't one for affection, even shoving people away when they wanted to give him a hug. Shaking hands was even a bit much for him.  
"Gerroff me!" he muttered. Nicholas smiled.  
"Loosen up, Rodney," he said seriously, patting him on the shoulder. "Everything's gonna be okay. Sure college is about work… but you gotta have _fun_ sometimes, right?"  
Rodney smiled.  
"Right."

The next few weeks were similar. As much as Rodney wanted to keep up his normal study habits, Nicholas had other ideas. There were so many places on campus he wanted to go to, and his weird ability to wheedle Rodney into anything prevailed more often than not.  
Rodney took less and less convincing with every trip. He wanted to get his schoolwork done, and his papers typed, but didn't have the immense drive to finish it the day it was assigned anymore. Nicholas wanted to go so many places and he wouldn't go anywhere without this "best friend".  
Fall came and went and soon it was Christmas. Rodney wanted to sleep in, but he knew that someone like Nicholas wouldn't be able to sleep at all.  
"Rodney! Hey, Rodney! Wake up, buddy!"  
Rodney groaned and turned over.  
"It's Christmas, come on! You can't _sleep!_ I got you a present!"  
"Why didn't you go_home_ for Christmas?" muttered Rodney angrily.  
"Well… I mean… I went home for Thanksgiving…"  
Rodney remembered the few Nicholas-free days vividly. He, at first, had been extremely excited to have his own time again… but within five minutes he found himself missing his roommate… immensely.  
"Plus I think I want to spend Christmas with my best friend this year!"  
Rodney hid a smile in his pillow. Nicholas's insistence that they were "best friends" embarrassed him yet touched him at the same time.  
Putting on his glasses, he sat up. He could barely open his eyes before Nicholas shoved a present at him.  
"Oh… thanks."  
He opened the package. He was, to be honest, kind of afraid of what Nicholas would think a "proper Christmas gift" for him would be.  
It was a book! "Broadway Musicals of the 1940s," he read. "Gosh, Nicholas, this is great! When we went to that bookstore uptown…"  
"I couldn't tear you away! I picked it up on my way back from home."  
Rodney smiled widely. "Gosh. Thanks."  
"What'd you get me?" Nicholas asked, grinning widely. Rodney pulled a present out form under his bed. Nicholas opened it gleefully.  
"A scarf?!" he asked, pulling it out. He started laughing. "Wow! How random! It looks just like the one…"  
"You lost on the subway last week," Rodney confirmed. "I searched, like, twelve shops to find it."  
Nicholas looked down at the scarf, and his fingers tightened around it. "Well, gosh, Rod. I don't know what to say." He smiled. "Merry Christmas, Rod."  
"Merry Christmas, Nicky," Rod answered with a smile. He felt a warm feeling inside his chest as he looked at his roommate.  
It was… affection. Friendship. Fondness!  
He'd never felt this feeling for anyone before. Was it the fact that he had never had any friends as close as Nicky was to him?  
Or was it the fact that whenever Nicky looked at him, he couldn't help smiling? That when he made "the face", he could never say no?  
Was it the fact that his skin tingled whenever Nicky touched him?  
And the fact that every second Nicky was gone, he was all that Rod could think about?  
Was Rod's roommate his best friend?  
Or was he…  
"Rod? You didn't yell at me for calling you Rod," Nicky chuckled.  
"No, Nicky," Rod said with a smile. "Friends call each other by fun names. Someone very wise told me that once."  
"Hey, that was me!"  
"Well… ok… not _very_ wise."  
Nicky laughed and balled up the wrapping paper on his bed and threw it at Rod. "Be nice on Christmas!"  
"Said the guy who just threw something!"  
They both laughed. "Say Rod," Nicky asked. "Why didn't_you_ go home for Christmas?"  
Rod smiled. "Because," he said. "I wanted to spend Christmas with my best friend."  
"AWW, YAY!" cried Nicky, attacking Rod in a big hug.  
"Nicky, get off!" laughed Rod. "Please."  
"You have to learn that hugs are okay. I taught you about nicknames, and you learned!"  
"Yeah, but learning is easier WITHOUT someone on top of me!"  
Nicky laughed. "Okay, okay. No more hugs."  
Rod smiled.  
He was confused.  
That was for sure.  
And college wasn't at all what he had thought.  
He expected to live alone, learning, and being at the head of the class. Just like high school.  
He hadn't suspected to get a sloppy roommate who was his polar opposite, who taught him to loosen up, and called him by a nickname.  
He'd found a best friend.  
And… he'd found…  
Well. He'd work that out later.  
For now, he'd take things one step at a time.  
It was the least he could do for his "best friend."


End file.
